Flue cleaner



Sept. 1 1, 1928. 1,683,619

' L JOHNSON fizz/6 Leonard 0 JfiIZGOR Patented Sept. 11, 1928.

UNITED STAT ES LEONARD W, JOHNSON, OF BATAVIA, ILLINOIS.

FLUE CLEANER.

Application filed May 10, 1926'. Seria1 No;.107 ,893.

My, invention relates to flue cleaners and has particular reference to a flue cleaner comprising a plurality ofblades'having portions of the blades. extending upwardly at an angle to the body of the blade to form a cutting element for. the removal of soot, ashes, inside scale and the like, from the surfaces of the boiler tubes,zthe flue cleaner being ofthe. same general design as that coveredbyiexpired PatentNoQ 7 34,617 of'July 28,1903. t a

The primary object. of myv invention s. the provision of a flue cleaner of the type ldentified above having a plurality of blades adapted to cleanthe' inner surfaces of the fire tubes of boilers, said blades having angularly. disposedportions for engaging the surface of the tube to clean the surface thereof and at the same time space the body of the blade away from the tube so that a minimum amount of surface of the blad is in contact, with the boiler tube.

. .Another and further object of my. invention is the provision ofa flue cleaner having the blades thereof so arranged that. a minimum surface of theblade isin, contact with the boiler-tube so that the temper will not be removed from the blades by the heat of the tubes in as short a time as has beenthe practice: heretofore, thereby lengthening the life of the fluecleaner to a very material eX- tent.

()ne of the difiiculties experienced with the type of flue cleaner covered by the above identified patent has been that the entire surface of the central portion ofthe blades is in contact. with the inside surface "of the boiler tube. Very frequently the tubes are cleaned while they are still hot and, in fact, the best results are obtained in cleaning the flue in this condition so that with the entire blade remaining in fiat contact with the tube the heat is absorbed very quickly from the boiler tube and in succeeding operations a re-heating andcooling ofthe tube removes the temper from the blades, thus lessening the effectiveness of the tool for cleaning the fines because the blades are made of spring steel and it is essential to proper operation of the device that the blades retain their temper and elasticity as long as possible. In my improved construction the heating of the blades of the flue cleaner is materially lessened by reason of the small amount of surface of the blade in contact with the tube during the cleaning operation, the cutting portions of the bladebeing in edgewise engagement with'the inner surface of the tube so that the temper of the blades 1s maintained for a longer period oftnne than .what has been possible heretofore.

Another and'further object of my invention is the provision of a flue cleaner composed of plurality. of spring blades having their portions fashioned into cutting elements so that the body of the spring blade is spaced apart from the .tube during the cleaning operation of the tube so as to allow air space between the body of the tube and the blade, this also serving to retain the temper in the blades andlengthen the life of the flue cleanen,

These and other objects of my invention will be morefully and better understood by reference. to the accompanying sheet of drawings and in which i F'gure. l is an elevational view of my improved fiue cleaner Figure 2vis an elevational view of one of,

the blades of my improved flue cleaner;

F1gure3 1S atransverse sectional view on line 22. of.Figure 1. illustrating one of the heads upon which. the blade. illustrated in Figure 3 is mounted; and.

Figured is a transverse viewof the blade taken on line i- 4: ofiFigure I Referring now specifically tothe drawings and in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, a head .10 is shown havingan internally threaded openingll inqthe endthereof by means of which the usualfiue rodlis attached to theifiue.

ends in the heads 10 and 12, these blades being arranged in a spiral formation, one of said blades being illustrated in detail in Figure 3. The head 10 has a plurality of recesses 14, 14 formed therein and having overhanging portions 15 and 16 adjacent the recesses 14, and the overhanging portions 15 and 16 being bent down overthe blade a sufiicient degree to hold it permanently in position. The member 12 also has a plurality of recesses 17, 17 therein adapted to receive the blades at their opposite ends in the same manner as illustrated in Figure 2, the recesses at their bottoms being inclined slightly so that a barrel-shaped structure is provided as illustrated in Figure 1, so that the device can be easily inserted into, the

tion formed at one side thereof and projccting upwardly atan angle to the body of the blade 13 as illustrated in Figure 4. The projection 20 is tapered at each of its ends as illustrated so as to allow for easy insertion of the flue cleaner into the tube, the said blade 13 at the opposite side having a similar projection 21 in slightly staggered relation with'the projection '20 but formed in the same manner but being upturned so that a cutting edge 22 is formedadaprtcd to contact with the inner surface of the flue as the flue cleaner is inserted into the flue, a similar cutting edge 23 being provided on the enlarged portion 20 at the opposite side of the blade 13 from the projection 21, these projections being of substantially the same height so that the blades are maintained in proper relationship in the flue to elliciently perform the cleaningof the inner surfaces of; the lines and space the body of the blade 13' away from the surface of the flue so that air can pass between the, body of the blade 13 and the surface of the flue. The angle of the projecting portions 20 and 21 of the blade 13 may be changed if desired, for flues of different diameter. In other words, the angle of these blades maybe greater for fines of larger diameter than those for small diameter in order to bring the cutting edges 22 and 23 into proper relationship with the internal surfaces of the flue to efi'ectively remove therefrom the scale and the like adhering to the inner surface. These projecting portions of the blade also form means for pushing the ashes, dirt and the like removed from the inner faces of the lines along the flue until they are'removcd therefrom at the opposite end of the flue, thus not only effectively removing the matter which adheres to the inner surface of the fine but assisting in its removal out of the flue. h

In practice it will be understood that the flue cleaner is formed by-the blades secured together between the parallel heads as heretoforc described, and that in usage the device is secured. on the end of a flue rod and inserted into the flue and passed back and forththerein until the foreign material is removed from the surface of the flue and it has passed out of the flue at one end or the other until the flue is efi'ectively cleaned.

While I have described more or less precisely the details of construction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes in form and the proportion of parts and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expedient within the scope of my invention as claimed.

1 claim:

. 1. A flue cleaner comprising in combination a pair of heads and a plurality-of blades mounted in said heads, the said blades having their middle portionsv widened and turned outward to form cutting elements on said blades.

2. A flue cleaner comprisingin combination a pair'of heads and a plurality of blades mounted in said heads, the said blades having their middle portions widened and turned at an angle to the body thereof to form cutting elements on said blades, the said widened portions being tapered at each of their ends and merging into the body of the blade.

Signed at Batavia, Illinois, this 7th day of May, 1926.

LEONARD W. JOHNSON.

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